Choose a curved axe handle

[300Six]

Poking around at two local Home Hardware stores yesterday I came across some lovely examples of what to look for in hafts, and what to avoid. Even when wood grain on a handle is straight a curved profile requires extra precaution.

Below on the left is a perfectly suitable end grain oriented haft (#1) and to the right is a 'least desirable' version (#2). As you can see from the following picture (a side view of #2) the grain literally 'runs out' within the curves at both ends of the handle. Longevity and durability of #2 is not going to be very good when subject to striking shock or up or down prying.

Once you've selected the best of the hafts with regard to end grain (ie versions least like #2) then you begin taking a close look at the lengthwise grain of those handles. First one in the next series of pictures (#3) (which also happens to be a different view of #1) shows ideal grain which is unbroken for the full length of the haft whereas the second one (#4) is by far the most extreme example of grain "runout" that I've ever come across. Breakage due to any directional shock or prying is pretty much a given for #4.

Only reason I photographed these is that examples of 'ideal' and 'horrible' are very rarely found. Haft selection typically involves compromise, that of choosing one with least amount of undesirable traits.
Final picture is illustrative of this. If there were only two handles remaining in the bin the left one (#5) would go home with me and the right one (#6) would stay behind. In fact if #6 was the only choice and I wasn't in a hurry I'd either wait for new stock or go to another store!

 

[BG_Farmer]

Excellent explanation and pictures.

 

[Square_peg]

This is great info for the newbie handle buyer. Thanks for illustrating it.

Another thing to look at is growth rings per inch. Premium hickory has between 5 and 20 growth rings per inch. 12-15 grpi may be ideal.

 

[300Six]

This is great info for the newbie handle buyer. Thanks for illustrating it.

Another thing to look at is growth rings per inch. Premium hickory has between 5 and 20 growth rings per inch. 12-15 grpi may be ideal.

Thank you for the compliment. Choosing becomes more subtle once you start critiquing growth rates, blemishes, heartwood/sapwood delineation, wood species and things like miniscule sap pockets and tiny knots. All I wanted to do here via pictures is highlight the more critical basics plus have an excuse to post a picture of 'whoopdeedoo' #4. My mouth fell open and eyes bugged out when I came across that one. By rights I should buy it, sand it down and varnish it as a conversation piece. For sure I'll be hard pressed to ever find another one like it. Otherwise some unsuspecting sod is going to take that one home, with some luck hang it and soon after wonder why handles were so much better 'in the olden days', and then pedal out to buy a plasti-hafted Fiskars.

 

[quinton]

Thank you for the compliment. Choosing becomes more subtle once you start critiquing growth rates, blemishes, heartwood/sapwood delineation, wood species and things like miniscule sap pockets and tiny knots. All I wanted to do here via pictures is highlight the more critical basics plus have an excuse to post a picture of 'whoopdeedoo' #4. My mouth fell open and eyes bugged out when I came across that one. By rights I should buy it,smooth it right down and varnish it as a conversation piece. For sure I'll be hard pressed to ever find another one like it. Otherwise some unsuspecting sod is going to take that one home, with some luck install it and soon after wonder why handles were so much better in the olden days, and then pedal off to buy a plasti-hafted Fiskars.

Naw. He will overstrike and blame himself.

That being said, I bought a Link, boys axe haft today at a local, True Value that was as perfect as I have ever laid my eyes on in a brought on haft!

 

[Liberatus1]

So given two handles the one with grain running perpendicular to the bit versus pronounced runout I'm thinking the bad grain would be the better of the two, is that right?

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Runout is bad. Grain orientation in the absence of runout is largely a non-issue.

 

[300Six]

So given two handles the one with grain running perpendicular to the bit versus pronounced runout I'm thinking the bad grain would be the better of the two, is that right?

I suppose that either/or, rather than both at once are equally preferable. Horrible run out (such as on #4) is no where near as common as is perpendicular end grain. I have no real interest in performing objective tests in this regard; I've inspected quite a few broken handles (hammers/sledges/shovels/axes/wheelbarrows/paddles) over the past 40 years and have noticed that most of them 'let go' with the grain and not across. On this basis is how I have tried to evaluate what I want to see in an axe handle.

 

[300Six]

Runout is bad. Grain orientation in the absence of runout is largely a non-issue.

No matter how straight the grain there will be run out on a curved haft if the end grain is perpendicular to the blade.
With American Elm, White Oak and Hop Hornbeam (Ironwood), and to some degree Sugar Maple, I'd not disagree with you on this too much but with White Ash I'd be standing well back from where you were swinging. I have no experience with splitting Hickory for firewood (it's not common around here) but have had lots with the others. Separating Ash along the grain requires almost no effort but trying to coax Ironwood or Elm to split along the grain is a sonuvagun. By my way of thinking this is an excellent indicator of how wood behaves (ie wants to 'stay together') when it is used as an implement handle.

 

[Square_peg]

Naw. He will overstrike and blame himself.

That being said, I bought a Link, boys axe haft today at a local, True Value that was as perfect as I have ever laid my eyes on in a brought on haft!

I was just posting a bit ago about how Link seems to do well with the smaller hafts for a boy's axe or cruiser. Don't know why, but several of us here have noticed this.

Runout is bad. Grain orientation in the absence of runout is largely a non-issue.

Yes, orientation is certainly far less of an issue than runout but I wouldn't quite call it a non-issue. I've seen too many breaks in handles with grain perpendicular to the head alignment for me to totally dismiss grain alignment. Grain alignment is the number one cause of breaks in claw hammers. I've seen it dozens of times. It's less of a problem in axes which aren't used as prying tools but the breaks in prying tools demonstrate the weakness of hickory perpendicular to the grain.

 

[300Six]

Yes, orientation is certainly far less of an issue than runout but I wouldn't quite call it a non-issue. I've seen too many breaks in handles with grain perpendicular to the head alignment for me to totally dismiss grain alignment. Grain alignment is the number one cause of breaks in claw hammers. I've seen it dozens of times. It's less of a problem in axes which aren't used as prying tools but the breaks in prying tools demonstrate the weakness of hickory perpendicular to the grain.

Thank you! Orient the grain of a no-runout-grain shovel handle parallel with the flat of the blade and you'll be out buying another one anyway first time you pry hard on something. Turn the same handle 90 degrees (ie perpendicular to the blade) and you won't have to replace it for a long time. These are age-old simple tricks that commercial shovel manufacturers have not lost.

 

[300Six]

Couldn't resist; went back to abscond with the earlier featured $9.95 'severe run-out' haft. If someone here is keen on possessing/displaying an educational example of what not to use for an axe handle let me know The unknown company that makes these generally supplies Canadian Home Hardware stores with pretty good stuff. Haft beside it is also one of theirs and is about as nice as it gets with regard to grain.

Buyers of today though no longer have access to the artfully thinned 'springy' hafts of old. The pictured new haft shown, although not 'clumsy thick' such as current Link versions, nevertheless feels and looks 'club-like' compared to a particularly slim and exquisite-contour Walters from long ago.
Mind you there is plenty of wood on one of these new hafts to enable you to shape, trim and contour to suit.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I agree that orientation is a problem in ash, but that's due to the nature of ash's porous ring structure. In the case of off-the-shelf hafts in the USA and Canada it seems like 99.99% of store-bought axe handles are hickory, where that matters much less. In a choice between a handle with good end grain orientation but bad runout or a handle with horizontal grain but no runout I'd opt for the latter every time. It does matter, yes, but much less than it tends to be made out as in the current axe-using community. The one thing that horizontal grain does increase is the likelihood of runout occurring in a curved handle.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Also, at least the nice thing about many axe handles today being on the thick side is that you can slim it down just how you want it! If it was a thin piece of wood from stock then you'd have less ability to put a large flare on the butt, for instance. It does mean more work for the end user to get it to tip-top form, but at least the option is there.

 

[cityofthesouth]

Wow, I'd be pumped to find the one in the bottom pics in a store. That handle seems to have pretty nice shape and enough wood to carve out a very attractive handle. Looks to me like the swell is about as large or larger in all dimensions than your vintage stick pictured along with it. I also like how long the tongue appears to be.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Yeah that looks like a pretty stellar example. And dropping the dimensions is nothing a cabinet scraper wont fix!

 

[Steve Tall]

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It's a good illustration that an axe handle could even have the "perfect" orientation of growth rings, as viewed from the knob end, and yet have terrible grain.

Thanks for going the extra mile in making this educational thread.

 

[300Six]

It's a good illustration that an axe handle could even have the "perfect" orientation of growth rings, as viewed from the knob end, and yet have terrible grain.
Thanks for going the extra mile in making this educational thread.

You're welcome.
I broke plenty enough axes, paddles, and shovels in my younger days, and later on in life tangled with enough contractor implement refurbs, to be able to begin to appreciate the vagaries of wood. At this time you cannot beat properly selected wood for any purpose known to man via similarly inexpensive/convenient substitutes. But wood know-how has fast become a lost art and myself (hey I'm only on the north side of 60 years old) feel only to be a rank amateur in this regard.
For instance, Mill water wheels of old (in my neck of the woods anyway) didn't fare very well over the long run using metal (bronze?) bearings but someone discovered that super-tough Ironwood was OK. Not only were the wood bearings shock-proof and durable but they swelled enough to ensure there was never any play in the mechanisms. Some of these units are still in operation so I'm told. I cannot substantiate any of this but have heard stories, from old factory workers, millwrights and machinists, long and often enough over the past 40 years that I cannot discount them.

 

[quinton]

You're welcome.
I broke plenty enough axes, paddles, and shovels in my younger days, and later on in life tangled with enough contractor implement refurbs, to be able to begin to appreciate the vagaries of wood. At this time you cannot beat properly selected wood for any purpose known to man via similarly inexpensive/convenient substitutes. But wood know-how has fast become a lost art and myself (hey I'm only on the north side of 60 years old) feel only to be a rank amateur in this regard.
For instance, Mill water wheels of old (in my neck of the woods anyway) didn't fare very well over the long run using metal (bronze?) bearings but someone discovered that super-tough Ironwood was OK. Not only were the wood bearings shock-proof and durable but they swelled enough to ensure there was never any play in the mechanisms. Some of these units are still in operation so I'm told. I cannot substantiate any of this but have heard stories, from old factory workers, millwrights and machinists, long and often enough over the past 40 years that I cannot discount them.

Ironwood was even used on the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, for propeller shaft bushings!

 

[quinton]

Those Garant, brand Michigan's seem to look a little more Daytonish that far north..